MEXICO CITY, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday that his administration will push for a new mining law to reserve lithium exploitation to the state, after lawmakers rejected his proposed electricity reform bill.
During his daily press conference, Lopez Obrador explained that a state company would exploit, extract, process, industrialize and sell lithium, whose price has been soaring lately.
"We are going to protect Mexico's lithium, the lithium of our generation and future generations, our children and grandchildren," he told journalists from the National Palace in Mexico City.
On Sunday, legislators in the Chamber of Deputies failed to approve the president's electricity reform, which sought to strengthen the state-owned Federal Electricity Commission, among other things.
Lopez Obrador estimated that the same lower house of Congress could discuss his mining bill as early as Monday.
Mexico has large lithium deposits, but lacks the resources to exploit them, according to the government.
The metal is considered the "new oil" due to its widespread use, especially in the manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles and telephone equipment.
